Officials 'won't bow to militants' :: Namibia Internet Gateway cc ::

Articles: Officials 'won't bow to militants'

Posted by admin on Friday, July 09, 2004 - 07:09 AM

Bulgaria and the Philippines say they will not bow to demands by suspected insurgents who kidnapped and threatened to kill their citizens in Iraq.
The hostages -- two Bulgarians and one Filipino -- were taken hostage this week. All three are truck drivers. Truck drivers have recently been targeted for abduction in Iraq because they were transporting goods to U.S.-led forces. The militants threatened to behead the Bulgarian hostages unless the U.S. military released all Iraqi detainees, and said the Filipino would be killed if the Philippines did not withdraw its troops from Iraq. Bulgaria and the Philippines officials said Friday they are working to free the men. However, Philippines Vice President Noli de Castro said the government "will not be cowed and be blackmailed by acts of terrorism," The Associated Press reported. On Thursday, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo barred government labor agencies from sending contract workers to Iraq. The government said there are "no less than 1,000 Filipino workers there hired directly by Iraqi companies or other foreign companies." Bulgarian Foreign Minister Solomon Pasi said: "Bulgaria's foreign policy is clear and predictable and there is no way to change it because of one or another group." Bulgaria "will do everything possible to defend its nationals," he told reporters in the capital of Sofia, without elaborating. The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry identified the hostages as Ivailo Kepov and Georgi Lazov. The Arabic-language network al-Jazeera first aired a video Thursday showing an Iraqi insurgent group threatening to behead two Bulgarian hostages within 24 hours if the United States did not comply with their demands for a total prisoner release. Video showed the two Bulgarians sitting down with their hands tied, while three armed masked men stood behind them. The insurgents identified themselves the Unification and Holy War group. Bulgaria supported the U.S.-led war in Iraq and has 470 troops in the country. In Manila, the Philippines government said the Filipino driver based out of Qatar was abducted as he drove through the capital. He was identified as Angelo dela Cruz. The abduction was reported Wednesday by al-Jazeera, which said an Islamic militant group claimed responsibility for the kidnapping and threatened to kill the man unless the Philippines withdraws its troops from Iraq. The Philippines initially contributed about 100 troops to the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq. There are currently just over 50 Filipino troops in Iraq.

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